BREAKING: Tinubu appoints Ex-CDS Musa defense minister

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.

The appointment was announced on Tuesday in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.

According to Onanuga, President Tinubu, in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, formally conveyed General Musa’s nomination to succeed Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday citing health reasons.

General Musa, 58, is a highly decorated military officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, he completed his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and the same year gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, General Musa has held several strategic command and staff positions in the Nigerian Army, including:

• General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations, HQ 81 Division
• Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion
• Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans
• Infantry Representative/Training Team Member, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps

In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and later Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.

By 2021, he rose to become Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, after which he was appointed Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps. In 2023, President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff.

In his message to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capacity to lead the Ministry of Defence and strengthen Nigeria’s national security framework.

Daily Trust